Jealous Much?

I have a thing for vintage advertisements. I search for and 'save as' on-line for no apparent reason at all. I have some originals framed in my house as well. I just love them. Some for the original artwork first, but also for the comedy. Take the one above. This woman loves her some meat. She loves it so much she got all dressed up in her pearls, hat and white gloves to go get her some meat. That, or she has a thing going on with her butcher....but I am pretty sure she got this dressed up just to pick out a lovely roast (does that say $3.05 on there?!) for her family. She takes her job seriously, and nothing makes her happier than a good ol' slab of beef. Why she even stopped to pose for a picture. It says 'look at me, I am fabulous, efficient and I love meat-jealous much?' Expect more of these ad posts- I litteraly got a tiggly excitement when I realized this was a strange hobby I could share on my blog. FINALLY I can put all these comedic thoughts to good use!

This is for you Emily Pie! My entry into the Photo contest "Sky"......I am somewhat obsessed with skies. They are a signature feature in a lot of my photo work! I couldn't pick one!

Pandora Radio-did you know?

Sometimes when I think I have discovered something new and amazing....I really haven't. The whole world (and by that I mean my friends) already know about 'IT' and I am just totally out of the loop. That may be the case in this recommendation. If so, just smile and act like you never heard of it for the sake of my fragile ego. Okay so haven't we all wanted a room full of musical gurus, where you could say something like "I love anything by Jack Johnson...now can't you make a radio station that plays only stuff I like?".............guess what folks, welcome to Pandora. You put in the name of someone you like and it builds a whole 'station' for you with a variety of artists that are similar. Oh guess what? It is FREE. I don't know how, but it is...totally free! Oh my romance with the Internet continues...

My Weird Funny

I am addict for all things funny. Problem is- not everybody thinks the same things are funny. Check out this video (called High Five) from Funny or Die.....my kids and I think this is darn funny. My husband does not. Apparently my kids inherited my weird funny... hopefully they got his math skills. See post below-I suck at math.

Never go hungry......

Well, last night was MY night to do the dreaded 'snack shack' duty for our local Little League. In case you don't have kiddies in Little League or Pop Warner- you may not have heard of this labor gimmick. Turns out when you pay your zillion dollar sign up fee, uniform fee, party fee, trophy fee and supplemental fee (huh?)....you are also signing up for 4 hours of free labor. Yes, every parent is required to work in the Snack Shack at our sports park for one shift (football you do 2 or 3 a season) for completely free. So off I went last night in my comfortable shoes to help serve hot dogs, nachos, slushies, churros and a complete array of candies that would make any dentist cringe. Actually while working last night I realized there was not ONE single thing that would be considered 'good for you'. And it made matters worse since I had no time to eat dinner before going and I was hungry. Right away I knew this was going to be a land of temptation when I was shown the candy bar storage in the industrial refrigerator. Willy Wonka would be proud. I was also greeted by the previous shift upon arrival- and given a quick, quick primer 'cook the pretzels for 5 minutes, churros for 6, the cheese goes here, use this lemonade, coffee comes in two sizes, ice cream is in the freezer etc......it was a lot to learn in 2 minutes. But I figured- hey how hard could it be? Luckily I was not alone. My team mom (Linda) and another dad (Royce)from our team were there for the shift as well.

There is no cash register- just a cash 'drawer'. And by the grace of god no tax to calculate! Everything was in easy to add increments: $1.00, $1.50, $2.00....this was the most math without a calculator I had done all year. Early on I decided if I couldn't find the price for something on a the tiny tiny typed price list they gave us- then it was $1.00. I figure if management didn't like it-they could take it out of my pay. We all muddled thru and helped the little ones count their change, and made lots and lots of junk food. It is really amazing how many slushies you can make in one shift! But the best part of the night was getting to know my 'co-workers'. We are on the same ball team- but rarely have time to talk between the 'who is on first?' game day stress. So it was nice to get to chat to them in between the ice cream sandwiches and licorice orders. Turns out Linda is Koren, her husband works the ER and she loves to have pool parties. Royce attended my childhood church and is in a travelling singing group called the Alley Cats! I never would have guessed these things.....So all in all it was a good night. I wonder who else is so interesting that I already know? Perhaps I should do Snack Shack duty with more of my acquaintances.....I think I will wait until next season, and my next donation of mandatory free labor night. But word to the wise: never grocery shop or work a snack shack hungry. Bad idea. Trust me.

MY-ba Linda.....ode to a hometown

While walking today in the hills of Yorba Linda- I began to feel so grateful to be able to live in such a neat city. And I have lived in lots of places and I know a thing or two about moving. I have moved often-and sometimes cross country. Lots of times I wasn't too thrilled about it...sometimes you go where your husbands career goes...I tried not to complain (ok not too much) and do it with a smile. The last 5 of these moves occurred in the last 10 years! I have been busy- it is amazing I ever even got unpacked in between.

La Palma, CA : grew up there.....

Yorba Linda, CA: moved here as a teen....

San Diego: Attended SDState for my freshman year. All a blur now....

Yorba Linda: Back home with the folks to finish at CSUF

Haciendia Heights: scary Motel 6 type apartment. But it was my first on my own.

Diamond Bar: Lived with my cool cousin Crystal

Hollywood: Literally right off Melrose Place...and so was the drama in my life!

La Brea area (LA): had a lot of really good parties here.

Larchmont Village (LA): bought my first house! had more good parties here!

Back to Yorba Linda: got married so this just seemed like the place to be...first son born

Hinsdale, IL (Chicago): brr cold.....2nd son born

Walnut Creek, CA (San Fran): met my closest friend....

BACK to Yorba Linda again: prayers answered- moved back to be near my family

There is something special about Yorba Linda. (my niece called it MY-ba Linda as a toddler)....I am 3rd generation Orange County (city of Orange) so I really feel a kinship with this area. I was married here and spent lots and lots of time here before we moved here (my dads best friend lived in YL). So I have memories of riding horses up to MacDonald's and tying them up to the hitching post out front (the post is still there-but not used as much I am afraid). We have an old downtown area-with an authentic hardware store from the cities earliest days. Luxury homes share the streets with original ranch style homes. Horse trails and amazing parks. Oil pumps dot the area. And it was that oil production that saved Yorba Linda's economy during the depression. I have always been proud to call it home. These are a few pics of my beloved 'home' town.....after all home for me, is anywhere I am. I like to 'bloom where I am planted'. And for now....I am happily planted in Yorba Linda.

Apparently birds of a feather......you know the rest. Most of the friends/family I told about my new little blog have e-mailed me with something similar to this "I barely know what a Blog is- let alone know how to leave a comment!".....so since I am becoming increasingly concerned with comments and site activity ( yeah it has been 4 days and I am already obsessed-see Carrie you are not alone)....here is a comment primer for my blog (or any other blog-see other great ones in Links I Love below).

Below the entry there is the word "Comment"...click it. Type in all your thoughts and feelings about my post. Good, Bad or otherwise.....or better yet tell me YOUR funnny story of the day!

"Why Not Mom?"...the wallet incident

I am sure before you read this post you have already glanced the photo. What is that exactly? Well I will tell you- and then you will feel my pain....but first let me explain.

My boys are insanely different people (and yet best friends). Remember those two boys in the Highlights magazine cartoon about two boys who were total opposites? Well, they are THAT opposite- except both are a little bad and a lot good. For one example, Tucker (my 7 year old) has always always been aware of 'fashion'. When he was 2 years old- he decided and proclaimed 'no more over-all mommy. Dat for babies'...and when he was three he insisted on 'hard pants only' (meaning no sweats!)...and around 4 he refused to attend any birthday party with out a 'party shirt on'. (It took me a frustrating hour to figure out what a 'party shirt' was exactly-turns out it had to have buttons on it.) And there have been many other phases too: no shirts with pockets, only shirts with pockets, Yes I will wear a cowboy hat everyday for a month, T-shirts with writing on the front only, shorts have to be past mid thigh, FOX only baseball caps, Vans only shoes and the list goes on and on. Meanwhile Jack, my 9 year old has never cared one bit about what he wears. If I don't take away the shirts that are too small for him- he would just keep wearing them until he is showing bare midriff ala Britney Spears. He wears anything.

So today when my Tucker asked me to Google 'cool surfer-skater wallets' for him. (Apparently a first grader has a BIG need for a wallet) I was a little stunned by his choice. By now you have guessed it- he picked the leather 'Thrasher' wallet WITH THE CHAIN. I can not imagine my sweet, angelic, adorable little blue eyed, freckle faced baby is going to be walking around town with a chain hanging down his thigh. Aren't those for criminals or something? First when he proclaimed 'THAT one. THAT is it!" I immediately said "um no I don't think so"....but when he looked at me with "Why not Mom?".....what could I say? I honestly couldn't give him a reason at all....well not a politically correct, totally evolved reason. Anything I would say was gonna be racist or snobby or stupid. So if you see an adorable kid walking around the OC with a chain wallet- can you smile and say "WOW you must have a cool mom to have that!"?

My Coffee Mug History

Today while putting away the clean dishes (my #1 dreaded chore)...I noticed I have not only an eclectic collection of coffee mugs, but they span quite a long period of time in my life. And like a well choosen bumper sticker- a coffee mug can say a lot about who you are, who you THINK you are and of course- who you WANT people to THINK you are!

The black mug has the words "writer' on its side. This was given to me by a beloved playwriting professor at CSUF...and it is cherished. That little gift from him (probably a Lillian Vernor sale item) was the most prized possession as I moved into the great big world after college. I held the title of 'writer' very seriously. After I traded that dream for another- it stayed in the back of my cupboards. But I never gave it away...it moved with me for now 15 years....and ironically, with this new blog-I feel worthy to use this mug again. It has moved up to the front of the cupboard again. The others in the photo are (in order)......

1. A polka-dot favorite. I have a set of 6. I love polka-dots.
2. One I had painted while still single. Says 'They don't call me Sassy for nothing'....
3. Another from the hand painting era. Says "she knew to imagine was everything"
4. Tinker Bell...from my awesome husband. (I not am contractually obligated to say awesome before the word husband. He really is...he makes me coffee every morning)
5. Say Cheese! Marcyphotos.com
6. Life is Good (I have the sticker on my car too...kinda my motto!)
7. And the latest from a recent trip to color-me-mine with the boys. I decided to put the year on it (and polka dots of course)...because this is going to be a year to remember. I can feel it!

My new drink of choice......

Anyone who knows me- knows I have been running down these last 10lbs (okay 20 lbs if I want to be a super model but I think that career has past me by....) for EVER. About 2 years ago I lost 40 lbs....and that was awesome. But the last 10lbs just won't come off!....so today when I saw this soda (Stewarts Orange n' Cream Soda) in the store I was skeptical...could something that has 10 calories really taste like an orangecicle-popcicle that has like 250 calories??? Guess, what IT DOES. I think I read the bottle like 15 times while I was sipping away- I could hardly believe it! My only fear is, there was some kind of mix-up at the bottling plant and I was really drinking something with more like 200 calories in it!!! Oh the fear!!!! Does that means that somewhere-somebody skinny is opening their full calorie version and is disappointed by the boring diet-y taste?....

Its got a good beat and you can dance to it......

I love music. I danced when I was younger and I think music has always stayed as an important part of my life. The thing is, I love ALL kinds of music. Recently when my husband and I were testing out our new HDTV and had it on a random HD channel-a Brad Pailey concert was playing. I began singing along and dancing around...and out of the corner of my eye I could see my husband in well,.... shock and disgust I think. "How in the WORLD do you know the words to this song? It is country!" he said......apparently I have managed to keep my love of country music in the closet for 10 years..... You know how when you are newly in love with a song- you can't wait to share it with a friend? Or if it comes on and you are with someone else you HAVE to turn it up and say "OMG you are going to LOVE this song! This song is my FAVORITE!" (This feeling wears off after you hear it for about 157 times...at 158 it is just not the same and you have moved on) Just for fun here are few of my recent downloads from itunes which are perfect for a run (okay walk) on my treadmill....check them all out and let me know what you think.... 1. Hello....by the Cat Empire (group from Austrailia that is regge, ska and big band and HAPPY) 2. Like a Feather by Nikka Costa (thanks to Suzanne for this reccomendation!) 3. Ain't Nothing Wrong with That by Robert Randolf & The Family Band (few years old-but hot) 4. Cobrastyle by Teddybears featuring Mad Cobra (bizarre and wonderful) 5. Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis (also odd lyrics- but upbeat and happy...I love happy songs) And from the playlist I title "Sweet Folky" I have these... 1. New Soul by Yael Naiim (from some commercial...and so lovely in the full version) 2. The way I Am by Ingrid Michealson (so simple and so perfect...and I love the claps) 3. See the World by Gomez (like a movie song or something....) 4. 1234 by Fiest (you know this from a commercial too- ironically I think it is for itunes!) 5. New Shoes by Paolo Nutini (again just darn happy...plus he has a cool name)